Iranian pop star Parastoo Ahmadi has been sentenced to 74 lashes by a court in Qom province for performing without a hijab during a livestreamed concert, along with eight members of her production team.
The 29-year-old singer and her band were also handed two-year bans on leaving the country and engaging in artistic activities after a December 2024 YouTube performance of the patriotic song Az Khoone Javanane Vatan (From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland), which garnered millions of views.
The Criminal Court of Qom found them guilty of “offending public decency” through the production and publication of what authorities described as “vulgar and immoral content.”
Rights groups have condemned the ruling as part of a broader crackdown on cultural expression and women’s rights in Iran.
Bahar Ghandehari of the Center for Human Rights in Iran described the sentence as “yet another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed.”
Human rights lawyer Moein Khazaeli criticised the decision, arguing that singing and performing music by women are not criminalised under Iranian law and that flogging raises serious international concerns over torture and human dignity.
The case highlights ongoing enforcement of mandatory hijab laws, which apply to both public spaces and online content, with penalties ranging from fines to corporal punishment.
The ruling is preliminary and subject to appeal.
